Wild Country Helium Friends

For only the third time in 33 years Friends have truly changed. The new Helium Friend is lighter and more solid than ever, building on the unique heritage of the most inspired, innovative and copied product in climbing. Stylish, dynamic and ergonomic; the Helium Friend is designed to be the ultimate Friend and has been superbly re-engineered to achieve this aim. At the head, radically revised new hot forged cam lobes shed weight without loss of strength, create more range per unit and optimize the overlaps between sizes. At the base, a new thumb loop, trigger and sling combine to give a smoother action with more reach and extra clipping points. The Helium Friend redefines ease of use. As testament to the first Friends, the Helium stays true to the original, key, immutable concepts, those features Friends did first and best, that have been proved time and again since day one. So the Helium keeps a slick single stem and predictable single axle, a ‘floating’ trigger design and the awesome holding power of our 13.75 degree cam angle. It is this mix of old and new, classic and radical, of experience and proven design that makes the Helium Friend the most complete cam there is. This is the Friend that completes the sharpest lightest racks, the Friend for the hardest sends and the most insane cracks; the Friend to lead the next generation.

Technology, Features and Specifications

Designing the Helium Friends from scratch has made some essential differences to it’s features, form and function. Significantly, Helium Friends have got a more concise and ordered range - trimming the number of units to nine - while at the same time each Friend’s individual range has increased and importantly so has the overlap between units, both adjacent and alternate. Simply put, this means there’s a better chance the unit either side of the one you need but don’t have will fit the placement you need it to - more placements with less units! The slick external overhaul also brings big benefits with a new stem/thumb loop making smoother triggering and giving a longer reach per unit, meaning deep placements are easier to place and remove and the new sling should mean less need to extend. However, not scrapping all that went before has also left lots of well tested features, instilling this new unit with an instant confidence and familiarity in the hand and creating a unit with an unrivalled combination of utility, durability and ergonomics.

New Features:

Hot forged cams, New trigger, New Thumb loop, New 12mm Dyn sling. Trigger stop, Nine Sizes. New springs, New stainless axle, All units 12kN, New stem cover. More reach, Up to 6% lighter per unit, Up to 20% more range per unit, Bigger overlaps.